Why My Brain Doesn’t Work Today?

If so, you may be suffering from “brain fog”. And if brain fog occurs too often, it then becomes a real problem as it negatively affects our productivity at work and vitality as a person.

Although not an official term, brain fog can be defined as a loss of mental clarity, difficulty concentrating and forgetfulness. And don’t blame your brain for the condition – brain fog is actually caused by inflammation and malfunctioning of your second brain (aka the digestive tract and gut microbiota).

What do you mean?  I have a “Second Brain”?

We all know that the brain is a very important organ in our body which controls every function, thought and reflex in our bodies. However, an increasing number of scientists and researchers have discovered that our bodies contain a separate nervous system located in our gut and this nervous system controls our bodies in far more ways than we might realise – and most people do not even have any idea about it.

This nervous system, called the enteric nervous system (ENS) is embedded in the wall of our gut and contains more nerve endings than the spinal cord. To describe the complexity and importance of this extensive meshed network of nerve endings in the gut, Dr Michael D. Gershon, professor at the New York Columbia University, coined the term “Second Brain”. All along, we know that the second brain plays an important part in controlling digestion of the food we eat. But new research is now showing that it plays an even more important role in our physical and mental health.

But the research work doesn’t end with just the discovery of the second brain. What is even more astonishing is that the gut contains trillions of microbes residing in our digestive tract. And these microbes affect our physical and mental health in many ways.

For example, the gut microbes produce 50% of the dopamine and 90% of the serotonin, two feel-good brain hormones, in our body. This in turn has a surprising effect on our mood and behavior. In fact, some studies have shown that eating yoghurt with healthy bacteria produced measurable decrease in individuals’ depression and anxiety levels, and increase in resilience from negative emotions making us more forgiving and social.

Another example, you arrived late for work, missed an important meeting and your boss was mad at you. Come break time, you couldn’t help yourself but head straight for the chocolate bar. It happens, at times of stress, our brain prompts us to seek out comfort foods. That much is known. What you don’t realise, though, it is actually not your brain in your head which made the decision but the microbes in your second brain which are responsible for the decision.

Introducing The Microbiome

What are microbes? Microbes are living things which are so tiny that we can only see them through a microscope. They are found all around us. When we mention microorganisms, many of us associate them with germs; germs that cause infectious diseases such as sore throats, flu, pneumonia and tuberculosis. We believe they are bad and we do all we can to kill them. We become obsessed with cleanliness: we shower ourselves with anti-bacterial soap, rub our hands with sanitizers, take antibiotics and so on. Yet, most microbes are not bad guys. In fact, many live in harmony with us and perform many functions vital to our survivability.

Through our many years of research, we found out that our bodies are home to trillions of microbes, many of which are living inside our gut. Collectively, they are called the “microbiome”. They actually outnumber the cells in our body by 1.3 times and are very important for our health.

Why do we have so many microbes? We need them because they protect our bodies from pathogens and infection; they help prime & fine tune our immunity system; they help in food digestion; they help to harvest energy from food that we eat; they also help synthesize essential nutrients eg. vitamin B12. In short, the microbes in our gut are vital for our metabolic health. Scientists are so impressed with the microbiome that it is often called the “forgotten” organ.

The Gut-Microbe Link To Mental Health

What is not so obvious is that the gut microbiome also affects our mental health.

Gut microbes can manipulate us via the second brain. For example, they can influence the food we eat. If our diet consists of sugars and fats, we are encouraging the growth of sugar & fat loving microbes in our gut. To survive, they will make us crave for sugary and fatty foods which in turn will ensure their survival in our gut.

Numerous studies have also shown that in more extreme cases, the gut microbiota is linked to brain development disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADD, ADHD, autism, learning challenges, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease. A study from the Karolinska Institute of Sweden showed that gut microbiota can directly influence the brain. In the absence of certain good bacteria and presence of bad, inflammation can occur in the brain.

So, what is the underlying cause of brain fog?

When we are healthy, our body produces a protein in our digestive tract called zonulin. Zonulin helps to regulate the tight junctions between cells in our digestive tract, which keeps undigested food particles, pathogens and gut microbes inside the intestine.

However, when the gut microbiota becomes stressed and imbalanced because of diet, lifestyle or stress, our body overproduces zonulin which instead cause the tight junctions of the cells in our digestive tract to break apart. The intestinal wall weakens, allowing undigested food, live bacteria and toxins to leak through the intestinal wall and cross into the blood stream, developing a condition called the “leaky gut syndrome”.

As these substances aren’t supposed to be in our blood stream, our body triggers an immune response to help fight off these foreign invaders. As the immune system is meant to help us fight illness and disease, it attacks both the invading foreign bodies and healthy cells, causing inflammation to occur in the digestive tract. This inflammation may eventually spread to other parts of our body including our brain, thus causing the “fogginess” and slowed cognitive function associated with brain fog.

In fact, studies show that the leaky gut syndrome doesn’t just contribute to brain fog, but it is also associated with a host of more serious mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Triggers of the leaky gut

There are two known triggers which are involved the excessive release of zonulin which in turn leads to the leaky gut syndrome.

The first is presence of gluten in the digestive tract. Gluten is a complex protein found in many foods but cannot be digested by the body. Gluten fragments in the digestive tract can instigate cells to release zonulin.

The second trigger is the gut microbiota. The microbiota can become imbalanced, a condition which is called dysbiosis, because of bad diet, unhealthy lifestyle, stress, inappropriate use of medicine and so on.  Or the microbiota may not be distributed the way it should be, for example, in a condition called small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), microbes which are supposed to be in the colon are present instead in the small intestine. This is a very strong stimulus for the excessive release of zonulin and cause of the leaky gut.

Mitigating the leaky gut

Fortunately, we can do something to mitigate the triggers of excessive zonulin release and the leaky gut syndrome. In fact, there are many practical things we can do to cultivate a balanced gut microbiota to keep the zonulin in check, which in turn develops a healthy gut and improves our mental performance.

The key factors which impact the balance of our gut microbiota are genetics, age, the way we were born (natural or C-section), environment, diet, lifestyle and use of medicines especially antibiotics. Factors associated with genetics, type of birth and age cannot be changed, so there is little we can do about them. However, factors like environment, diet, lifestyle and use of antibiotics are within our control, and with a little will power, we can make the changes that matter.

In our subsequent posts, we will deft into the details of the do’s and don’ts of how to strengthen our gut health and maintain a healthy brain. Remember, how well our brain performs is principally influenced by our gut.

Conclusion

Science has established the link between the gut microbiota and our mental health. It is hence important to ensure that we maintain a healthy gut microbiota, so that our brain can function properly and we can continue to maintain mental performance. In our following articles, we will see the factors influencing our gut microbiota and learn how to care for our gut microbiota.